This is by far my favorite image from the trip to the sand dunes. Not necessarily for it’s photographic merits, but rather for it’s emotional and sentimental impact. This photo, to me, truly illustrates what I felt that morning; the sun rising above the Sangre de Cristos mountains, the cold wind blowing violently, sand flying everywhere… each photo was truly a battle against the elements, digging the tripod into the sand, bracing myself against the wind, and all the while trying in vain to keep the sand out of my equipment.

Looking back on this photo, I can still sense so much about this moment… Sounds, smells, feelings, thoughts. To me, that makes an incredibly powerful image. Whether that translates and remains apparent in the 540,000 pixels on your screen, I don’t know. But I like it. And maybe sometimes that’s enough. A raw emotive response, shunning the rules and just going with what feels right. Might not win me any awards, but it will preserve those memories for a long while to come.

Try it bigger, if you’re up for it. Also, for the full effect: try out this simple quicktime video made from about 15 shots taken from the tripod, just before I made this shot. It really gives a good feel of what I was up against… you can see the tripod shaking from the wind.